The Untold Truth Of Watchmen

Much the generally-accepted knowledge about Watchmen and its making would likely be loudly shouted down by the book's creators, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The inspirations for Watchmen, its creators' intentions, and the contributions each brought to the table are often misunderstood or overlooked.

It's a strange irony that in a medium as concerned with images as comic books, the writers tend to get most of the attention. Watchmen is no exception. As the comic's artist Dave Gibbons said when he spoke to Wired in 2008:

"People unacquainted with graphic novels, including journalists, tend to think of Watchmen as a book by Alan Moore that happens to have some illustrations. And that does a disservice to the entire form."

While being interviewed by Neil Gaiman in 1987, Gibbons said it was his idea for the cover of Watchmen #1 to be of the now iconic blood-smeared smiley face. It was Gibbons, with Moore's input, who designed the physical appearance of the characters. And perhaps most significantly, it was Gibbons who brought life to Watchmen's world.

Watchmen was one of a number of superhero comic book series published in the mid-'80s that are often associated with one another because they're said to explore the notion of superheroes as fascist figures. Examples include Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Marvel's Squadron Supreme, in which superheroes with good intentions nevertheless turn the U.S. into a totalitarian state. Keep watching the video to see the untold truth of Watchmen!

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The man behind the art | 0:18
They aren't fascists | 1:05
Fearful Symmetry | 2:25
The Question of Rorschach | 3:15
HBO follows the graphic novel | 4:28
The Tulsa massacre | 6:00
The capes change sides | 7:30
Return of the king | 8:54
Watching the watches | 10:26
Visions of the past | 11:49